May 21, Pozirk. Sweden will allocate about €430,000 for the international fund supporting Belarusian political prisoners, the Parłamiencki Kanał Telegram channel reports, citing Johan Forssell, Sweden’s minister for international development cooperation.
Forssell made the planned announcement at the 2024 Stockholm Conference on Belarus, pledging support to its democratic aspirations.
In late April, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced the transfer of €850,000 to the fund, set up by Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja and administered in cooperation with the Norwegian foreign ministry.
Belarusian initiatives that help political prisoners are in charge of the fund, providing medical and psychological help, rehabilitation and funding opportunities to former political prisoners and families of people who suffered from politically-motivated persecution in Belarus.
Cichanoŭskaja came up with the fund’s idea after jailed Belarusian human rights champion Aleś Bialacki was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
As of May 21, human rights defenders identified at least 1,374 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented. Opposition sources estimate the number of political prisoners at around 5,000.
